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Śiva and Parvātī (Umā-Maheśhvara)

Śiva and Parvātī (Umā-Maheśhvara)

Unknown

This Hindu relief stele depicts Śiva (Shiva, also called Maheśhvara), god of both destruction and re-creation of the world, and his companion Parvātī (also called Umā). Together, their sexual partnership represents the union of the soul with the divine or the interrelated nature of all things. This object was created under the Pāla Empire, which flourished in Eastern India within the regions of Bengal and Bihar during the eighth to the eleventh centuries. While Pāla period artwork was predominantly Buddhist in nature during the ninth and tenth centuries, Hinduism expressed greater influence on the area during the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Stylistically, this stone icon resembles other religious panels from the Bihar region, and specifically Bodh Gaya (Uruvela). It would have originally been set into a recess or niche on the edifice of a monastery or in a votive shrine. Research into from which specific location this object was removed is ongoing.
Artist
Unknown (Indian)
Title
Śiva and Parvātī (Umā-Maheśhvara)
Date
ca. 925-950
Period
Pala Period
Medium
Schist
Dimensions
21 3/4 x 11 x 4 1/2 in. Overall
Credit
Gift of Earl Morse
Accession No.
63.8.1
Classification
Sculpture
Geography
India

Related

<span>27 November 1961, purchased from Ernst Hauswedell (Hamburg, Germany) auction, "Indien &amp; Siam Plastik des 2.-18. Jahrhunderts: Sammlung Kurt Stavenhagen, Teil II: Persische Bronzen (Luristan &amp; Amlasch) Sammlung R. und Beiträge aus anderem Besitz," [sale 110, lot 44] by Dr. Johanna E. van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, Professor of Indian Art and Archaeology, University of Amsterdam on behalf of Earl and Irene Morse; August 1963, deposited on long-term loan by Earl and Irene Morse at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; April 1964, gifted by Earl and Irene Morse to the University of Wisconsin; 1967, transferred to the University’s Elvehjem Art Center [now called Chazen Museum of Art]. [Last researched by Chazen staff October 2023]</span>

  • "SchoolsMusuemsART (SMART) Project." Madison, WI: Madison Metropolitan School District, 2002.
  • Leoshko, Janice. "Pala Period Indian Art in the Elvehjem's Collection." Elvehjem Museum of Art Bulletin, 1986-1987. Elvehjem Museum of Art (1987): 32-38. pp. 32-38
  • Elvehjem Museum of Art. "Elvehjem Museum of Art Bulletin/Annual Report 1986-1987." Elvehjem Museum of Art, 1988. p. 33
  • Fogg Art Museum. "Indian Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse." Cambridge: Fogg Art Museum, 1963. p. 15, no. 11

  • Pala Art: Buddhist and Hindu Sculpture from Eastern India, ca. 800-1200 AD: University of Iowa Museum of Art, 11/1/1969–12/3/1969
  • Indian Sculpture from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse: Fogg Art Museum, 5/20/1963–8/3/1963

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